Barcelona a staggering £800MILLION in debt after buying £108m Griezmann from Atletico Madrid
Alan Scott
BARCELONA are a staggering £800MILLION in debt after buying £108m Griezmann from Atletico Madrid.
The Catalans, who have negotiated a £717m release clause in Frenchman Griezmann's contract.
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Antoine Griezmann's £108m transfer has shot Barcelona's overall debt up to £800mCredit: AFP or licensors
Barca paid the
£107m clause to trigger Griezmann's move from their La Liga rivals.
But the crazy amount of debt leaves huge question marks over any
£200m deal for wantaway Paris Saint-Germain star Neymar.
Barcelona do receive vast sums of their Spanish TV deal, dominated by the Catalans and Real Madrid who receive far more than other teams.
But they could still need to sell players to service that massive debt.
Wingers Ousmane Dembele and
Malcom - a target for Arsenal - could be sold.
Philippe
Coutinho is also rumoured to be on the move, and Barca would look to recoup much of the £145m they paid Liverpool in 2018.
They would also struggle to get substantial transfer fees for Lionel Messi 32, Luis Suarez and Gerard Pique.
Those latter two turn 32 in the early part of next year, so their age prevents any sizeable sell-on fee being negotiated.
The La Liga champions lost huge sums after failing to reach the Champions League final - despite a 3-0 first-leg lead against Liverpool.
They are spending £538m remodelling the Nou Camp.
This is due to be finished in 2023.
Figures in Spain reveal Barca's gross debt was 888m euros on June 30.
Long-term debt is 189m euros and short-term debt is 492m euros, claims the figures from website Cule.
Loans from players and investments bring that figure down to 505m euros (£453m) as a net debt.
Experts believe the club must find £180m to reduce the net debt to £270m.
Worryingly, Barca still owe Liverpool £83m from the Coutinho deal.
That could play into Reds' hands if they want the mercurial Brazilian back at the club.
Nou Camp chiefs reportedly will pay the bank £13m to service that debt this year.
But it seems that players will surely be sold to try and find that £180m to make that debt more manageable.
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